The present invention relates to printed trading cards, such as baseball, football or basketball trading cards having a picture of a sports figure. More specifically, the present invention relates to trading cards on which a postmark is printed, which relates to the date and/or location of an event associated with the person printed on the trading card.
Trading cards, such as baseball cards have been sold and collected by individuals for generations. Typically sports trading cards have a picture of a sports figure along with information about the individual""s career, such as batting average, number of career home runs or number of strikeouts. In recent years trading cards have become quite popular and are collected and traded as memorabilia items. In addition, the demand for trading cards has prompted a number of premium quality cards having special features. For instance, trading cards having multiple layers to produce a three-dimensional visual effect have been produced. In addition, trading cards having hologram images have been produced, as well as trading cards in which a piece of memorabilia, such as a piece of bat or jersey, is attached to the trading card. Despite the presence of several types of premium quality trading cards, there exists a demand for premium quality trading cards having novel and unusual features.
In light of the foregoing, the present invention provides a trading card have a postmark printed on the card. Preferably the postmark has a date and location corresponding to an event associated with the picture on the trading card. The trading card is produced by applying a picture, such as a sport figure""s picture, to a card and obtaining a postmark on the card. Preferably the card is sized to conform to the length and height of postcards permitted for mailing by the United States postal regulations. After the card is mailed, a portion of the card may be severed to form a trading card with a postmark thereon. More specifically, the postcard may be severed so that the height of the card is shorter than the minimum height of postcards permitted for mailing by United States postal regulations and/or the length of the card is shorter than the minimum length of postcards permitted for mailing by United States postal regulations. After the card is trimmed, the card may be packaged, such as by wrapping the card in sheet material to enclose the card.